Call Center Management Featured Article

AI is a Powerful Tool in the Call Center

Artificial intelligence (AI) is steadily permeating all aspects of life, from consumer-oriented solutions like Siri and Alexa to industry-specific applications designed to manage and automate routine tasks. The call center is a perfect environment for AI, capable of filling in data caps to aid representatives, and help better route and manage calls and agents.

One of the best applications of AI in the contact center is predictive analytics. Intelligent software can aggregate all available data about a customer, for instance, and compare it to predictive models for behavior and emotion. By analyzing the data in this context, the software can better inform agents of customers’ needs and preferences, enabling them to provide a higher quality customer interaction.

Analytics may also be used for on-demand agent training based on a variety of metrics for measuring productivity and effectiveness. Voice analytics are a powerful tool for creating a predictive analysis of an agent’s performance, pinpointing patterns of both good and poor interactions to form an overall picture of agent performance. Call center managers may also conduct real-time monitoring of the agent’s voice pitch, their use of scripting and their use of keywords on social media or in customer chats. Managers may choose to intercept a negative interaction in real time to keep customers satisfied, and can also use performance analytics to better train and coach agents.

The best way to ensure a call center is gleaning the most value out of AI is to ensure the software has access to the best data sets. And by breaking down objectives into smaller, specific processing tasks, managers can efficiently mine data sets and design better algorithms, leading to greater efficiencies and ease of management. The technology can also be used to monitor customer satisfaction levels across a variety of channels like voice, SMS, social media and chat based on voice analytics as well as the type of language used.

AI is a powerful tool that can aid and augment the customer service process within the call center. Far from a replacement for live, human interaction, AI technology can instead help call center managers better route calls as well as provide human agents with the data and tools they need to create more positive interactions with customers. The end result is a more productive and efficient call center and a greater level of customer satisfaction, a win-win for all parties involved.

If you’d like to learn more about AI, be sure to check out TMC (News - Alert) and Crossfire Media’s newest conference and expo, Communications 20/20, happening July 18-20 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. The event will focus on the next wave of technology and innovations that will transcend the importance of person to person contact, disrupting the future of the entire communications industry. Find out more HERE.